Vanitas Vanitatum.

VANITAS VANITATUM .

IT is astonishing the perverse obstinacy -which many brethren show in the matter of jewellery . We presume there is a certain littleness in the minds of some men , which , even when they become Masons , the grand principles of our Order are incapable of wholly eradicating' . For the

life of us , wc cannot see why men should bedeck themselves with so much glittering tinsel , as though the more they wore of it the abler and more useful did they become as members . Jewellery becomes a woman ; or to be more truthful , and at the same time more gallant , it is the " female form divine" which alone can set off the brilliance

of the gems with which custom permits her to adorn herself . It is even questionable in the minds of many , if a woman is not more charming to the eye the more she relies for effect on her own beauty of form and face—unaided by the glitter of gold and priceless gems . It has been

said that— " Beauty unadorned 's adorned the most , " but be this as it may , there cannot be a doubt , that for a man to cover his fingers with rings innumerable , and his breast with all kinds of showy stars and crosses—unless , of course , they have been conferred upon him for honourable services

to his country or his kind—is an egregious folly , evincing a pettiness of mind which is little else than contemptible . And if the proposition hold good with regard to profane men , a fortiori , does it hold good of Masons , who unite in one common brotherhood for the good of man , not for

individual show . We are told indeed , at the very outset of our Masonic career , that the simple badge of Masonry is more honourable than the noblest and most ancient Orders of Knighthood . This being so , the love of finery , to which so many give rein , is the more surprising . Jewels that are

honourably won in the course of Masonic duty may be worn with honour . These , iu truth , we have not in our mind at the moment of writing . It is the multiplication of Masonic badges and emblems to which we so strenuousl y object . It is the wearing of un-authorised jewels against

which we protest . One of our correspondentssometime since described one of these peccant brethren as having the breast of his coat covered with a mass of jewels , only three of which he was entitled to wear . The rest were , in fact , a mere trade advertisement , he being , if we remember rightly ,

a jeweller by trade . Again there has been a controversy raging as to the right of Master Masons , to wear the fivepointed star , this being affirmed to be the jewel emblematic of their rank . We have failed to discover any valid authority in support of this view , and we imagine , were

the right established , beyond all doubt , that every brother , when raised to the third degree , would be formall y decorated with this badge , just as he is with the simpler one he is indubitably entitled to wear . This , by the way , however . The point we are driving at is , not so

much the wearing of a single jewel , about the propriety of wearing which there may , perhaps , be some doubt , but the far more blazing question , whether it shall be permitted brethren to bring ridicule , and , it may be , contempt , on our Order , merely in order to gratify their own inord inate vanity .

It must be in the experience of all our readers that when , in private society , a man appears with a whole array of rings and studs and links about him , he would perhaps prefer to be deaf to the comments that are made , and made

not always as silently as they might be . We laugh at the ignorant savage who childishly , as wc imagine , adorns himself with feathers and beads , nose-rings and anklets . Why , then , should we , as Masons , who profess to have legitimate and praiseworthy ends in view , whose aim is to promote

Vanitas Vanitatum.

the welfare of man , why should we give way to such silly vanities ? It is not so long since Grand Lodge issued a circular against the wearing of unauthorised jewels . It rests , of course , with tho W . M . of each Lodge to enforce do

strict obedience to this circular , and ^ if these their duty , there will soon be a disappearance of all such silly display . At all events , it will not be outwardly offensive to disci pline and o-ood taste .

Masonic Portraits (No. 6). The Craftsman.

MASONIC PORTRAITS ( No . 6 ) . THE CRAFTSMAN .

THE architectural profession is just now passing through one of those periodical revolutions which , when they come , must sorely trouble the minds of those who have no genius to grapple with the new problems which such revolutions always present for solution . The present is a period of unparalleled activity in the building trades :

London is rapidly being rebuilt in solid stone . Magnificent public buildings are rising around us , and the Cockney may fairly be proud of the grandeur of the capital . The Gothic revival has done much to improve the taste of the masses , and architects are slowly learning to understand

the principles of this the most plastic of all the styles . Much has been done for architecture by such critics as Ruskin , who has made Continental Gothic familiar to the untravelled Englishman . The renaissance is falling into disrepute so far as church architecture is concerned ,

but for public buildings , for secular purposes , it still holds its ground . The new Foreign Office is a notable example of this style , and the great Meat and Poultry Markets , in Smithfield , are also admirable examples of the mixed Italian and Classic , adapted to strictly utilitarian

purposes . If modern Freemasonry concerned itself with the practical business of the architect and the builder , ifc might possibly happen that the skilled handicraftsman would of necessity carry off all the highest honours of the fraternity . Many distinguished architects are Masons ,

but happily the great truths of speculative Masonry may be acquired by those who have not specially studied the arts of construction . We are , at this moment , thinking of a brother whose image we desire to transfer to our canvas ; but , although he is an architect who has made a

name for himself , we do not think that he has specially distinguished himself in Freemasonry . To many of our readers he is doubtless well-known , and if we were to describe his burly figure , or his peculiarities of manner and speech , we should not find it necessary to give

any further clue to his name and titles . They would at once recognise a familiar acquaintance whose presence in the Lodge room we have of late missed . In the City he holds a position which , if his talents were less conspicuous than they are , would entitle his opinion upon

any point of his profession to some weight . He has held a distinguished place in the Society of British Architects , and it has been his fortune to erect some remarkable public buildings which will hand down his name to a romote posterity . The magnificent markets in Smithfield were erected

from his designs ; and , although his tastes run in the direction of the Classic rather than the Gothic , he erected the Guildhall Library ( a most beautiful building ) in the latter style ; and some years since he successfully restored the Guildhall itself , a fine example of the architecture of the thirteenth century . Such public services as